


Harmonious Household

by ineptshieldmaid



Category: Song of the Lioness - Tamora Pierce, Tortall - Tamora Pierce
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-09-16
Updated: 2008-09-16
Packaged: 2017-10-10 17:45:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/102397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ineptshieldmaid/pseuds/ineptshieldmaid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Planning a Lady Knight's wedding was never going to be easy...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Harmonious Household

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bedlamsbard](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=bedlamsbard).



I _what_?" Alanna glanced around at a room full of carefully neutral faces. Trickster follow him, Myles had probably sold tickets for this. She stared back down at the piece of paper in her hand.

Myles smiled blandly at her. "It's traditional. One of the Great Sacraments. The Rites of Birth, the Ceremony of Dedication, for religious orders, the Ceremony of Knighthood, the Ceremony of Marriage, and the Rites of Death."

"As I recall, you gave me a passing grade for history," Alanna snapped. "I know all that. You can't expect me to swear all _this_."

She caught sight of George out of the corner of her eye- her fiancé was leaning against the mantlepiece, doing his best to cover his laughter with one hand.

Myles raised his eyebrow. "Swear all what?" He pulled the paper back out of her hands, although Alanna knew very well that he knew the words of the Ceremony by heart. "_Take this man to be your husband..._ hmm... _love and loyalty... through mutual help and support that your household should prosper with the blessing of the gods._"

"Really, Alanna, you should've told us sooner," George drawled. "Jon's already written his speech and everything. Not that _I_ care, we can live in gleeful debauchery for the rest of our lives, if that's what you want, O light of my life. But Jon here seems to think his champion ought to be respectable." Alanna suspected the cough somewhere behind her was Buri, casting aspersions upon her normal levels of respectability.

"Shut up," she ordered George. "Myles, yes, fine, I do so swear all that- will so swear all that."

"Then what seems to be the problem?" Myles really was a _most_ infuriating man, when he wanted to be. Alanna pulled the paper back out of his hands and slammed it down on the desk.

"There! That bit there!"

Myles craned his head attentively. "Oh, oh, yes, I _see_. Is it that much of a problem?"

"I obey HIM!" Here, she stabbed a finger in the direction of Jonathan, whose shoulders were shaking with suppressed laughter. "That's _it_! Oh, and Thayet, too, I suppose," she added, as an afterthought. The Queen had given up all pretence of composure, and was laughing outright.

"Yes, yes, very funny," Alanna grumbled. "Don't think I don't know you all arranged to be here on purpose. I'm still not swearing it."

"An estate needs a clearly defined ruler," Myles reminded her. "How do you expect to resolve questions of estate management, then?"

"Hand-to-hand fighting," George offered. Alanna glared at him.

"You're saying that because you think you can beat me."

"Not since you met the Shang Dragon, my love."

"Shut up," she said, knowing full well George wouldn't heed it any more than he did the first time.

"Hmm," Myles nodded. "I can see this is going to be a very harmonious household."

"Harmony be damned. There _will_ be a clearly defined lord: him. On _his_ estate. And me, on _mine_. Are we clear?"

Myles opened his mouth to say something infuriating again, but this time Jon pushed himself away from the wall and came to lay one hand on Alanna's shoulder.

Alanna glared up at him. "Am I providing His Majesty with his afternoon's entertainment?'

"And doing a fabulous job of it, too," Jon gave her a tolerant smile. "Fortunately for you," he went on, in a more serious tone of voice, "I thought having my personal champion swear obedience to anyone else might make for trouble. No offence, George-" George shook his head and grinned at the King- "but we have precedent to think of."

"_Thank_ you, Jonathan." Alanna squeezed his arm gratefully as Myles produced a second piece of paper with a flourish.

"This," he announced, "is the text from the wedding ceremony of Tortall's last Queen Regnant. It will need some adjustments, of course- take out all the royal bits. But it should do nicely."

Alanna tugged this piece of paper out of his hands, too, and ran her eyes down the vows therein. "Yes, yes, no, that's ridiculous, all this stuff about the kingdom can go, maybe put in some of the prospering household stuff." She scanned George's half of the vows and snorted. "I suppose you know you've got just about as much chance of getting _him_ to swear all this as you do me?"

"Yes, yes," Myles said, folding his hands in his lap. "I did say it would need some editing."

"Well good." She handed the paper back and turned to face the rest of the room. "Have you all had your fun today? I'm going riding."

"But Alanna!" there was a distinctly wicked twinkle in Thayet's eye. "I was going to order the dressmakers up here. We've put a commission in for fifty yards of white silk..."

 


End file.
